Written by Lady Sita
Part VI
A flash of light momentarily brightened the dark Tor.
Megabyte stood with his back to his visitor. "Oh, is that you, Zip-," he said as he turned around with a small smile on his blue, metallic face. As he saw Bob, the smile quickly turned itself into a frown.
"My dear Guardian, to what do I owe you the pleasure of this little, ah, intrusion?"
"You know why I�m here," Bob replied, his expression as cold as ice.
"Oh? And what may that be, Bob?" Megabyte tapped his fingers on a nearby console, knowing very well the reason why Bob had come to pay a visit.
Bob marched up to the virus and grabbed Megabyte tightly by his thick neck. "Don�t you toy with me, you viral piece of scrap of data!!"
"Are you sure you should be doing that, Bob?" Megabyte grabbed one of Bob�s wrists in his large hand. Nothing happened.
"Your infectious powers won�t work on me."
Megabyte drew back his hand as a look of suppressed surprise on his face.
"Allright then, my blue-skinned little. What is it that you want of me?"
"You want I want," Bob repeated fiercely.
"Why, what ever are you talking about?," asked Megabyte pleasantly.
"MEGABYTE!"
The Guardian picked up the virus up off the floor and hurled him into a wall.
Bob stomped over to where Megabyte lay against the wall and pulled up Megabyte by his shoulders and slammed him into the wall again.
"Where are your sisters and what have they done to my friends?!" Bob pulled out his gun. "By the user, I swear if you don�t tell me, I�ll blast you into the next system!!!"
The virus�s mouth literally hung open as he looked at Bob, his face twisted in anger. Megabyte, not one known for letting his emotions, hastily tried to cover up his blunder.
"Oh, is that what you wanted? Why didn�t you just say so, my dear blue-skinned friend."
"I am NOT your �friend,�" Bob said menacingly. "Don�t EVER call me that again. Now tell me where my friends are, and what your siblings have planned for them," Bob commanded.
Turbo, Matrix and Phong turned around as Bob stepped through a portal into the Principal Office.
"Where did you go, Bob?," asked Turbo.
"Yeah," said Matrix, "You just ran off awhile ago."
"Did you find anything, my son?," asked Phong.
"I just paid a visit to our good friend, Megabyte," Bob replied grimly. "I... had him tell me where Hex and Zip Drive are holed up."
"Where are they?," Matrix demanded, standing up from his seat.
"He said they�re all the way down on level 99, in sector 15."
"Bob, are you sure you can trust him?," Turbo asked doubtfully.
"I... uh... well, just trust me."
Turbo raised an eyebrow, but didn�t say anymore.
Phong rolled over to Bob. "Did the virus say what Zip Drive and Hex plan to do with them?"
"Megabyte said they wouldn�t tell him."
"Well, come on! Let�s get going!," said Matrix urgently, pounding his fist on the console. "We don�t know what�s happening to them!"
"Allright. Matrix: you�re with me. Turbo, can you head a 20-binome team?"
"Yep."
"Ok, you and your team start at Level 99 and Sector 10 and meet us there. Phong, have a 20-binome meet Matrix and me at Sector 15. We�ll go straight down from there. Got it?"
Everyone nodded.
"Let�s go!"
Bob poked his head around a corner. Nothing. Just like the other countless passages they had already explored.
"Clear," he whispered across the hallway to Turbo.
Bob and Turbo stepped into the hallway, followed by Matrix and the two teams of binomes.
"This has to be the place," said Matrix. "We�ve searched everywhere else."
The three of them walked up to the last door way.
"Well, this is it," Bob said. "Ready?"
The others nodded.
"On my mark. One, two, THREE!"
Bob kicked down the door and the they ran in to the room. It was empty. It was small, only about 8x6 feet.
"What!?," Matrix yelled angrily. "This can�t be happening. There�s nowhere else they can be!" He began to walk dejectedly out the room.
"Wait a nano, son," Turbo said. "There�s something funny here. The wall..."
Matrix turned back to take a close look at the back wall. "Yeah, you�re right," he agreed with Turbo.
Bob cautiously touched the wall, suspecting a deception. The wall rippled.
"It�s a trick!," he exclaimed. "Somethin� Hex must have set up."
"Not for long." Matrix pulled his gun and blasted the wall, shattering it.
The group saw three tables, and a female sprite lying on each of them, all unconscious.
Zip Drive stood with her back to them, working at a console. Hexadecimal was hovering over Dot, holding a long syringe in her hand.
Hexadecimal looked with a smile as Zip Drive turned around. "Why, sister, it looks like we have visitors."
Zip Drive launched herself into the air at Turbo. He dove and rolled out of the way.
"Avoiding me, fattther dear?"
Turbo stood looking stunned, allowing Zip Drive time to launch herself at him again. Bob tackled the Prime Guardian just in time to save Turbo�s ASCII. "Turbo! What is she talking about?!"
"I... I have no idea," Turbo said, looking confused. He jumped back as Zip Drive swung at him.
"Can you handle Zip while I get Dot and the others out of here," Bob called out has he dodged a low kick from the virus.
"Sure thing, Bob," Turbo grunted has he blocked a blow.
Bob glanced over to where Matrix and Hexadecimal were fighting. He seemed to be doing fine on his own.
The Guardian ran over to where Dot lay on one of the examination tables and undid the shackles.
He checked her pulse. Steady. Bob shook her gently, but there was no response. "Come on, Dot. Wake up," he urged. He shook her harder. She continued to sleep deeply. "Right now I�m glad you�re the smaller one," Bob grunted as he lifted Dot off the table. "Hey!," he yelled to the binomes. "Help me get the other two out of here!"
Turbo fired a round from his blaster. Zip Drive dodged most of the shots, although she took on in her leg. It didn�t seem the slow her down, though.
"What do you mean, father," demanded Turbo as he gave Zip Drive a swift kick in her stomach. She landed on her back.
"Oh, you don�t know? I ttthought sssomeone would have informed you by now." Her hand slid to her leg.
"What in the Web are you talkin� about, you little piece of -"
Turbo stopped in mid-sentence with a cry of pain as Zip Drive stabbed the long blade she had had hidden in her boot through his shoulder and into the wall, pinning him.
She traced a claw across his face, but Turbo forced himself not to flinch. "You sssee, my dear Prime Guardian, Hex is only my half-sister. My motttther took a little bit of your DNA when you were infected, and, well, here I am!" She giggled. It looked grotesque her disfigured face.
Zip Drive suddenly flew and hit the wall next to Turbo as Bob gave her a flying kick to her head.
"Turbo! Are you allright!?," Bob shouted to his friend as Zip Drive began to get back up. She glared angrily at the guardian.
"I�ll be fine, Bob," the older sprite replied as Bob pulled the dagger out. Turbo put a hand up to the wound to staunch the flow of energy.
"Ssso, we meet onccce more, my blue-skinned friend." Bob spun around to come face to face with Zip Drive.
"You know, I�m getting really annoyed with people who are not my friends calling me that!!"
"Prepare to be deleted!" Zip Drive swung her arm and gave Bob four deep scratches on his face. "Okay, now I�m just gettin� tired of you," the guardian growled.
He leapt up and stabbed Zip Drive�s own dagger into her chest. She collapsed and lay still.
"Now, there�s someone I won�t be missing."
"Come on, little man! Have you grown up at all!," Hexadecimal taunted Matrix as he swung at her. "Oh, this getting boring," she sighed as she put up a shield against Matrix�s shots.
Hexadecimal glanced over to where her half-sister lay dead on the concrete floor. "Tsk, tsk. Zip was never very careful. I suppose I will have to get that guardian back some time, but not today." She disappeared just as Matrix was going to begin shooting again.
"I hate it when she does that!," Matrix growled.
"So that�s what they wanted with you all?," Bob asked.
Bob, and Dot sat on one side of a booth across from Matrix and AndrAIa. Mouse leaned on over one of the seats. Turbo had already headed back to Super Computer. Enzo, sitting at a booth behind the group, stuck in between Bob�s and Dot�s.
AndrAIa nodded.
"That�s just creepy," Matrix said.
Dot shuddered involuntarily and Bob wrapped a arm around her waist.
"So whut happened when y�all got there?," asked Mouse.
"Well..." Bob recounted the tale to Mouse, Dot, and AndrAIa.
When he was done, Enzo exclaimed," You killed Zip Drive? Boy, Hex has got to mad at you!"
Matrix nodded his head in agreement. "Well, she sure sounded like she wanted to get you, Bob."
Dot sent a sharp glance to each of her brothers before turning back to Bob. "I�m sure Hex�ll find something interesting and forget all about it."
She gently touched the four scratches left by Zip Drive�s claws on the side of Bob�s face. "Did you get these during the fight?"
"Yeah, but they�ll heal up. Eventually." Bob took Dot�s hand�s hand and kissed her.
"Yuck!," Enzo exclaimed.
The group laughed and Bob pulled playfully spun Enzo�s cap around.
Things were back to normal. For now.